Fresh Fish?

I've been thinking about buying Links some fresh fish as part of his main diet. Firstly, can he eat the bone, or are they too small and pointy in Fish thet they could get stuck in his throat? Secondly, which fish would be best to buy? And Finally, should I have the fish head/tail and insides all in tacked?

I would also like to know but maybe feeding fish from an aquarium. I have livebearer fish that love to have fry. just wondering if it is ok to feed these guys. they are only about 2 inches in length

I am not sure about feeding fresh fish from the grocery store, but I don't see a problem in feeding fry (the baby fish) to your cat. What kind of fish are the livebearers? I know a few fellow fish keepers that like having a clean-up crew for munching on fish that may jump out of the aquarium.

the are mollies. not the typical black colored one. they're orange creamcycle colored. Neat fish

I have two local fish mongers in my area. Do you think their fish would be appropriate? I'm thinking salmon or haddock?

I feed fresh fish (tuna, salmon, haddock, cod, mackaral), but buy fillets, and mash the fish after cooking it, and pick out any bones I find.

So you wouldn't feed it raw then? What about heads and stuff?

IMO since I don't eat raw fish, I'm not giving it to the cats. Fish are really not all that natural for cats to eat. Mine get an occasional bite of tuna if I'm making tuna salad or a bite of talipia fish that we have for supper.

They get one can of seafood based food about every 10 cans of beef/chicken, etc.

Cats can get hooked on fish (tuna especially) and not want to eat any other foods - too much fish can cause health problems in the long run.

Salmon is much higher in natural oils than Haddock. These are relativly 'healthy' Omega-3 oils, but depending on your cats weight this could be a factor to consider. Also, speaking from experience, Salmon tends to receive more 'alterations' from humans than other fish (ie they can offen be dyed orange if their flesh is naturally pale, or injected with growth hormones whilst in fish farms). Wild salmon is suprisingly rare, and very expensive.
Haddock is a much cleaner fish, but the price of haddock varies a lot throughout the seasons. If you do decided to do an all fish diet, Id buy up supplies when the fish is cheap and freeze it.
Some ocean fish, such as tuna and swordfish, have recently been critisized for having high levels of mercury in them. How true this is, or whether it even effects cats, I do not know.
As for fish bones, from the size of fish you'd be buying at a fish mongers, id say absolutly not to let the cats eat them. They're much to big and sharp for a cat to chew on safely.

Goldenkitty posted as I was typing! But I'd like to say I agree with what was said. My older cat will now ONLY eat seafood based tins of cat food. I never realised I was risking him getting 'seafood' addicted by feeding him so many of them when he was young! I wouldnt feed a cat raw fish either, only cooked, and no heads/tails/bones/guts.

Feeding raw fish can result in vitamin B deficiency - it contains large amounts of an enzyme that breaks down vitamin B1. The enzyme is destroyed when cooked, so is fine to feed cooked fish but I wouldn't overdo it as it doesn't contain all the nutrients they need for a balanced diet - not enough Taurine in it for starters. Tuna and other oily fish don't contain enough vitamin E for a cat, and most fish contain trace amounts of mercury. I give mine cooked fish as a treat occassionally.

Parasites can also be a problem - I wouldn't eat it raw myself.

Occasionally I feed them a little raw salmon fillet (already deboned) but definitely nowhere near a main part of their diet. Just the occasional evening snack in place of their canned food whenever I'm fixing salmon fillet for myself. Some wild salmon can contain a very bad parasite. I can't remember the name but it's come up before when feeding raw fish to dogs.

As for tank fish. I would absolutely not do that from first generation fish. There are lots of illnesses that can be carried by aquarium fish and especially livebearers and feeder goldfish. It's not even suggested to use such fish from the store as food for other carnivorous fish but to use frozen foods or breed your own fish for several generations to eliminate most possible illnesses. Some of these can be passed on to humans as well so I imagine cats can get them. Personally I would only feed fish destined for human consumption that have previously been frozen. Freezing kills lots of stuff.

thanks for the input.

NO RAW FISH.... yes cooked can be added into the diet but not the sole ( pun intended) diet...

Haddock is a great fish and it some areas can be gotten for about a 1 a lb...

Easy way around the salmon issue BUY WILD CAUGHT and buy WHOLE fish and cook yourself

Originally Posted by Sham

As for tank fish. I would absolutely not do that from first generation fish. There are lots of illnesses that can be carried by aquarium fish and especially livebearers and feeder goldfish. It's not even suggested to use such fish from the store as food for other carnivorous fish but to use frozen foods or breed your own fish for several generations to eliminate most possible illnesses. Some of these can be passed on to humans as well so I imagine cats can get them. Personally I would only feed fish destined for human consumption that have previously been frozen. Freezing kills lots of stuff.

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And if you look on the bottle of some dechlorinators (the one that I use is Prime, and I know for a fact that it says this), it states that "Not intended for use on fish intended for human consumption". Which could be translated to also not feed to cats.

Aquarium fish are a no-no. Too many chemicals in the tank, who knows what in the water, and the fish themselves aren't guarenteed perfect. So, no aquarium fish.

As for fresh fish, I must be a bad meowmy. Once a week the furkids have a fish night. They get uncooked, with the head, tail, and guts and have a heck of a ton of fun eating them. Maybe it makes a difference that they are on an all raw (prey model) diet and get vitamin supplements?

Hmmm.....well at least sharky was here to add some imput. I would personally just stick to chicken and such. I will feed mine a cooked shrimp now and again. Not very often probably less than once a week and only a small peice. They like it and I'm guessing it's ok for them to eat.

Originally Posted by ChrissyR

Aquarium fish are a no-no. Too many chemicals in the tank, who knows what in the water, and the fish themselves aren't guarenteed perfect. So, no aquarium fish.

As for fresh fish, I must be a bad meowmy.

Once a week the furkids have a fish night. They get uncooked, with the head, tail, and guts and have a heck of a ton of fun eating them. Maybe it makes a difference that they are on an all raw (prey model) diet and get vitamin supplements?

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the raw is IFFY in most place s because of pollution( ie toxic metals) , parasites(that are not present in normal prey model( very few wild cats fish)) ...

My vet suggested whole fish be bbq for about 5-10 minutes to aid in digestion and parasite prevention.. and she is a VERY BIG raw advocate

Originally Posted by sharky

the raw is IFFY in most place s because of pollution( ie toxic metals) , parasites(that are not present in normal prey model( very few wild cats fish)) ...

My vet suggested whole fish be bbq for about 5-10 minutes to aid in digestion and parasite prevention.. and she is a VERY BIG raw advocate

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I'll have to do that (bbq the fish) from now on. We just buy the frozen Tilipia and use that. Been doing it for a few months now and haven't had a problem. Course, we might just be lucky but I'm not pushing that luck! Thank you!!